Few Dolphins players have been around long enough to remember Chad Pennington's first practice with the team back in training camp of 2008, but those who were won't forget it. Pennington gave the defense that feeling.

Only hours after being released by the Jets and signed by the Dolphins, Pennington got behind the wheel of Miami's seemingly inept offense and surgically dissected the first-team defense in practice. Not for a drill or a series. The entire day. ...

He did that a lot in the '08 season, when Pennington led the Dolphins to an 11-5 record, the AFC East division crown, and the team's last playoff berth. ...

It was unforgettable, a moment I've book marked in my mental Rolodex.

If you were there you'd probably feel the same way, which explains why Ryan Tannehill's three-touchdown performance in Monday night's scrimmage was nice, promising, enticing — but doesn't serve as proof he's made the necessary progress the Dolphins need.

Although Tannehill is clearly practicing better than he did all last season, the biggest concern Dolphins fans should have is whether the improvements will be enough to make Miami a winning franchise.

Three touchdowns during a red-zone drill against the second-string defense doesn't tell us enough about whether Tannehill has improved on third-down throws, red-zone execution and fourth-down efficiency. Those are all critical moments when quarterbacks win and lose games. They are areas that separate the average quarterback from the good, and good from the elites.

They also happen to be areas in which Tannehill struggled last season. ...

When the day comes that I witness a Tannehill practice and the defense looks helpless, it will be a good indicator he's getting there — getting to Pennington's level. ...

Perspective - it took Pennington a few years to be effective and he also sucked for several seasons. He was okay and on the verge of being relieved by Henne when the Wildcat was introduced. He was the perfect guy to manage a game and work with the Wildcat versus a somewhat soft, Tom Brady-less schedule. He got exposed big time against better defenses and the following year was not making Miami a winning franchise.

I get it, Pennington was smart, efficient and limited by injury. But he wasn't the answer and if he is the barometer for Tannehill then we may as well be looking for a new QB.

I saw Kelly say that Pennington would have this team at 11 wins this year. I call complete BS because he isn't going to outgun other QBs. He doesn't have the Wildcat to pull off big plays and help him position the team for TDs. 2008 was an anomaly for so many reasons.

So he's allowed to sense Tannehill lacks IT based on limited evidence. But if we use limited evidence to suggest he needs more time we're just full of excuses.

Then he contradicts his previous exception to the rule comment by acknowledging that two of the best QBs took time to develop (and they came in with more college game experience and less early NFL success than Tannehill.)

He has also talked about IT being something your born with (swagger, confidence, drive, etc.), hence why Henne and Beck never succeeded. You either have IT or you don't. But now it is something that can be learned?

I agree that there is limited if any evidence that Tannehill is the future. But sensing he lacks IT screams of creating controversey for the sake of dramatic discussion and getting your name out there.

Perspective - it took Pennington a few years to be effective and he also sucked for several seasons. He was okay and on the verge of being relieved by Henne when the Wildcat was introduced. He was the perfect guy to manage a game and work with the Wildcat versus a somewhat soft, Tom Brady-less schedule. He got exposed big time against better defenses and the following year was not making Miami a winning franchise.

I get it, Pennington was smart, efficient and limited by injury. But he wasn't the answer and if he is the barometer for Tannehill then we may as well be looking for a new QB.

I saw Kelly say that Pennington would have this team at 11 wins this year. I call complete BS because he isn't going to outgun other QBs. He doesn't have the Wildcat to pull off big plays and help him position the team for TDs. 2008 was an anomaly for so many reasons.

I was thinking the same thing reading the story........Omar is beyond bad

Yes, take a few exceptions and make it the rule. Was he saying the same things about Brees, E. Manning, Rivers, Rodgers, Stafford, Hasslebeck, etc. etc.?

Unfollowing him on Twitter is simply a relieving feeling. I respect that he works hard and tries to pump out information, but his arrogance and constant glass half empty approach sucks.

He really does lack perspective.

Sounds like some of the posters on this forum.

Omar is trying to stir the pot so that people will give him attention and follow him. It's ok to take a balanced, sensible and conservative approach to grading out players, but he needs to be able to do it across the board. He just seems to bash anything this franchise does (even when it is good).

I'll say this about Pennington. He was a very smart QB. He was rarely fooled by defenses. He knew where the best match up would be based on what the defenses showed him. He didn't hold the ball too long or force throws into double coverage. He was fantastic hiding the ball during play action passing. Pennington was limited by a weak arm but threw to the open spots on the fields. The same could be said for Peyton Manning now. If Tannehill learns to consistently recognize the weakness in a defensive scheme, cut down tipped passes, avoid staring down WR's and holding the ball too long, he will have made huge strides.

Yeah, I'm tired of Omar's negative attitude about everything. Can anyone suggest someone else to follow on twitter that might provide good coverage without all the negativity? I'm not local, so I don't know all the local reporters.

I'll say this about Pennington. He was a very smart QB. He was rarely fooled by defenses. He knew where the best match up would be based on what the defenses showed him. He didn't hold the ball too long or force throws into double coverage. He was fantastic hiding the ball during play action passing. Pennington was limited by a weak arm but threw to the open spots on the fields. The same could be said for Peyton Manning now. If Tannehill learns to consistently recognize the weakness in a defensive scheme, cut down tipped passes, avoid staring down WR's and holding the ball too long, he will have made huge strides.

If Pennington had Henne's arm strength he'd still be the QB of the Dolphins. He limited mistakes and knew where to go with the ball. But he couldn't put a team on his back...regardless of revisionist history.

Ryan Tannehill hasn't thrown an interception in more than a week at Dolphins camp.By most accounts, Tannehill is putting together an extremely strong camp. Although he hasn't gotten on the same page with new burner Mike Wallace yet, he's protecting the ball while showing accuracy. We'll get a look at Tannehill's progress is Sunday's Hall of Fame Game against the Cowboys.

I dont think Eli was ever on the trade block. Yes Coughlin was but the Giants went thru to much drafting him with the whole SD thing to give up on him 4 years in. Plus that organization is first rate, they knew the talent was there. The Coughlin thing was more of a player mutiny but Coughlin changed & the rest is history. Patriot fans can attest to that.

I'll say this about Pennington. He was a very smart QB. He was rarely fooled by defenses. He knew where the best match up would be based on what the defenses showed him. He didn't hold the ball too long or force throws into double coverage. He was fantastic hiding the ball during play action passing. Pennington was limited by a weak arm but threw to the open spots on the fields. The same could be said for Peyton Manning now. If Tannehill learns to consistently recognize the weakness in a defensive scheme, cut down tipped passes, avoid staring down WR's and holding the ball too long, he will have made huge strides.

If Pennington had Henne's arm strength he'd still be the QB of the Dolphins. He limited mistakes and knew where to go with the ball. But he couldn't put a team on his back...regardless of revisionist history.

If Pennington had Henne's arm strength he would still be the QB of the Jets. But you are right he couldn't beat the better teams because he couldn't throw the ball deeper than 25 yards.

I'll say this about Pennington. He was a very smart QB. He was rarely fooled by defenses. He knew where the best match up would be based on what the defenses showed him. He didn't hold the ball too long or force throws into double coverage. He was fantastic hiding the ball during play action passing. Pennington was limited by a weak arm but threw to the open spots on the fields. The same could be said for Peyton Manning now. If Tannehill learns to consistently recognize the weakness in a defensive scheme, cut down tipped passes, avoid staring down WR's and holding the ball too long, he will have made huge strides.

If Pennington had Henne's arm strength he'd still be the QB of the Dolphins. He limited mistakes and knew where to go with the ball. But he couldn't put a team on his back...regardless of revisionist history.

If Pennington had Henne's arm strength he would still be the QB of the Jets. But you are right he couldn't beat the better teams because he couldn't throw the ball deeper than 25 yards.

I dont think Eli was ever on the trade block. Yes Coughlin was but the Giants went thru to much drafting him with the whole SD thing to give up on him 4 years in. Plus that organization is first rate, they knew the talent was there. The Coughlin thing was more of a player mutiny but Coughlin changed & the rest is history. Patriot fans can attest to that.

exactly, I follow these nfl rumor mill sites for years and I never once heard mention of that,plus I follow the Giants closely because my entire extended family are Giant fans. That never happened.